The Fear Cage
by FallenAngel218
Summary: While investigating the grisly murder of a Petty Officer, the team finds themselves captive of their worst fears... can they pull together and find the source?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: While investigating the grisly murder of a Petty Officer, the team finds themselves captive of their worst fears... can they pull together and find the source?

Genre(s): Horror/Supernatural, Suspense

Warnings: Disturbing Imagery

**Chapter 1**

There wasn't much that could render the entire MCRT speechless. The crime scene before them, however, stopped them all in their tracks.

The team had been summoned to a warehouse in Anacostia to investigate the murder of a Petty Officer. No one was expecting to see the sickening amount of blood on the floor of that loading area. Tony stood frozen, camera in hand, as he stared at the symbol on the ground underneath the Petty Officer's body. The most disconcerting thing was the Petty Officer's face. It was frozen, as if he were screaming in terror.

_What in the hell happened here?_

Tim stood motionless, holding a sketchpad in his shaking hand. It wasn't as if he'd never seen blood before – God knows he has – but this – it was beyond anything he could have imagined in his nightmares. The Petty Officer was white as a ghost, and there seemed to be gallons of blood – everywhere.

Ziva had seen much blood and death in Mossad, but nothing prepared her for the sight before her. The blood and the symbols drawn on the ground sent a shiver up her spine. She could have sworn she felt a cold sensation coarse through her body. She jumped a mile when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around on the offensive. She relaxed when she realized it was Gibbs who had touched her.

"What in the hell – "

"That is what we are all thinking, Gibbs."

Gibbs stared out at the devastation in front of him. _What on God's green earth could have caused all of this?_

"L-let's get to work," he managed to fumble out. Ziva was the only one who was able to move. "DiNozzo! McGee! Now!"

DiNozzo came out of his trance first, and started to snap pictures. Tim came out of it moments later, and shakily started to sketch the symbols on the ground. He'd picked up some art lessons from Kate years back, and often brought a sketchbook to the crime scene, as he'd seen her do. The symbols were starting to give him a feeling of dread as he continued to sketch them.

"What have we – Oh my God…"

Everyone looked up to see Jimmy Palmer standing in the entryway, gripping the side of a gurney. He looked pale. Gibbs, who was speaking to the responding officer on scene, stopped and made his way to Jimmy.

"You all right, Palmer?"

"I—I think so."

"Where's Ducky?"

"Not well," Palmer replied, trying to push back the sudden fear that had enveloped him. "He's back at NCIS—Agent Gibbs, what happened here?"

"I was hoping you could help us with that, Palmer."

"I—it looks like all of the blood has been drained from his body," Palmer said, looking over the scene. "He's been – exsanguinated."

Gibbs regarded Palmer's statement with unease.

_Who in the hell are we looking for?_

**NCISNCISNCIS**

It took the MCRT some time to process everything and get what was left of the body into the Autopsy van. Tim and Ziva had taken as many blood samples as possible to take to Abby for processing. When they were finished, Tim climbed into the back of the truck, while Ziva and Tony took the front with Gibbs.

Tim sat against the side of the van, knees to his chest. He clutched the sketchbook in his hands the entire ride back, as if someone were going to take the drawings away from him. The anxiety within him was intense… immense feelings of dread consumed his mind. His eyes darted nervously around the darkness. He had the feeling he wasn't alone back there. The truck hit a bump, and Tim was immediately transported to another place in his mind. He was being shoved over a cliff, and he was falling fast… he tried to reach his hands toward the person who had pushed him, toward the edge of the cliff, but it got further and further away from him. Tim opened his mouth to scream, right before everything went black.

**~*~*~*~*~**

A piercing scream from the back of the van startled the three passengers in the front seat. Gibbs pulled the truck over and leapt out, bolting for the back of the truck. Tony and Ziva were on his heels. He ripped open the back door and found Tim lying on the floor of the truck, unmoving.  
Gibbs got into the truck and slowly knelt at Tim's side.

"Tim," he said gently, reaching out to touch his Agent's shoulder. He didn't move, and Gibbs shook him harder. "Tim! Wake up, damn it!"

"Help!" Tim shouted, shooting up into a sitting position. Upon feeling Gibbs' arms restraining him, he began to fight.

"Calm down, McGee! It's all right!" Gibbs said, "You're all right!"

Almost instantaneously, Tim started to calm down. He blinked a few times, and looked at Gibbs, who was still on his knees right next to him.

"What happened to you, McGee?" Gibbs asked as Tim took a few breaths.

"I-I have no idea…"

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

Tim refused to let his friends call an ambulance, insisting that he was fine. Gibbs didn't believe him, and instructed Ziva to ride in the back with him the rest of the way to the Navy Yard. He put his back to the side of the van, chest heaving. Ziva was seated across from him.

"What did you see?" she asked him gently.

Tim shook his head, clutching the notebook closer to his chest. Ziva noticed it when they had first discovered him, but thought nothing of it, until now.

"You can tell me anything, McGee. We are friends, yes?"

He nodded shakily.

"Then you can tell me. It will be easier to tell me than Gibbs."

"You're right."

His voice was weak and shaky. It made her uneasy to see him this shaken up.

"I remember feeling nervous… really nervous. I felt like someone was in here with me. Then… I was somewhere else. I was falling. I tried to reach out, grab the person looking down at me, but I—I couldn't…"

A tear made its way down Tim's face, and he wiped it away.

"I was terrified, Ziva. I thought I was going to die. It was so real."

"It was not real. Keep remembering that and you will be all right, my friend."

"Thanks, Ziva."

**NCISNCISNCIS**

Jimmy backed the truck into the Autopsy garage, and killed the engine. He couldn't wait to get out of that truck, and away from the body. The idea of being alone with it sent chills up his spine. He took a few breaths to steady himself, before making his way to the back of the truck. Taking another deep breath, he opened the doors wide. The body was still there, as it should be. Jimmy reached in and started to pull out the gurney, when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to see the face of the dead Officer, staring at him.

Jimmy screamed and dropped the gurney. It clanged to the floor of the garage as he stumbled backward about ten feet, and came to his senses. The body, still zipped up in the body bag, was hanging out of the back of the Autopsy van, half on the gurney. He heard the doors open off to his left, and footsteps coming his way. Moments later, Ducky and McGee appeared.

"What on earth happened, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked as McGee secured the body onto the gurney again.

"I—I don't know… I was taking the body out of the truck, and I saw—" Jimmy took off his glasses and wiped his face with the towel Ducky had given him. "I saw his face. He was sitting up in the back of the truck. For a split second, I thought he was alive. I dropped the gurney and jumped back. That's when I realized—"

"That you were hallucinating," Ducky finished.

"It seemed so real," Jimmy said, staring at the gurney.

"Let me bring our friend inside and get him situated. Why don't you and Timothy start a pot of tea in my office, and relax."

Jimmy nodded, and Ducky made his way to the gurney. Tim joined him a second later.

"I believe you, Jimmy."

"You do?"

"I saw something in the truck on the way back. Gibbs found me unconscious. Had to shake me out of it."

"Wow, are you all right?"

"I think so. It was just so…"

"Real," Jimmy finished.

"Yeah."

Jimmy was still visibly shaken.

"Come on Jimmy, let's go make that tea."

"Good idea."

**NCISNCISNCIS**

Tim talked with Ducky and Jimmy for a bit, as they had tea. Ducky reassured them that what they had experienced was a reaction to a gruesome crime scene. After a bit, Jimmy had recovered enough to help Ducky with the autopsy. Tim retreated before the body bag was unzipped, not keen on being in the presence of the body any longer. He made his way up to the squad room, where Tony was dancing about, holding the clicker to the plasma.

"What did I miss?" he said, approaching the group.

"Petty Officer John Kimball, age 27," Tony said, theatrically clicking through the pages on the screen. "Last seen when his ship came to port, about a week ago. He didn't come back from leave, and his CO reported him UA."

"How did he go from UA to – well- what Ducky has in Autopsy?" Tim asked.

"Why don't we get to work and find out?" Gibbs said gruffly as he came into the bullpen behind the two.

"On it, Boss."

"Yes, Boss."

**NCISNCISNCIS**

The day was uneventful. They'd gotten nowhere with Kimball's credit cards or background, and certainly nothing to explain the occult symbols they'd found. He'd shown his drawings to Abby. Even she was disconcerted when she saw the drawings and photographs. She couldn't find anything anywhere about the symbols.

_Gibbs sat back in his desk chair and rubbed his eyes. It was nearing 11 pm, and he was exhausted. Tony was asleep at his desk, and McGee was still typing away, looking over-caffeinated. He shut his eyes for a moment, to try to wake himself up._

An explosion made him snap his eyes open. There was fire all around him. Tony was lying still on his desk, flames shooting up from his body. Tim was trying to get away from his desk, and failing. Gibbs sprang up from his chair and started to move toward Tim's desk. Every way he moved, a wall of flames shot up in front of him, blocking his way.

"Boss! Help!" Tim shouted, reaching for Gibbs. Gibbs stood amongst the flames, watching them engulf  
Tim… he was helpless to stop him. He could hear his Agent's cries fading.

"Boss!"

Gibbs jumped out of his chair and looked around the squad room. Everything was as it should be. Tony and Tim were standing in front of his desk, looking worried.

"Are you all right?" Tony asked.

Gibbs took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his face.

"I'm not sure…"

**TBC… **


	3. Chapter 3

**The Fear Cage – Chapter 3**

"What the hell happened, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine, DiNozzo. Get back to work. Find that psycho."

"On it."

Gibbs fell back into his chair. Tim was still standing by his desk.

"Don't you have work to do, McGee?"

"You saw something, didn't you?" Tim asked.

Gibbs looked up at him. Tim was being deadly serious. He knew he wouldn't get a moment's peace unless he answered the question.

"I don't want to talk about it. Get back to work."

"Boss—"

"Back to work! Find that killer!" Gibbs shouted angrily.

Tim turned and went back to his desk. As he brought up his search program, he averted his eyes to Gibbs. He was concerned that whatever his Boss had seen had shaken him up badly. He got confirmation when Gibbs got up moments later, and headed for the rear elevator.

"What do you think got the Boss so nervous?"

Tim looked up to see Tony staring at him.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen him like this before."

"It's all too hinky for me," Tony said, getting out of his chair with the clicker in his hand. He brought up the crime scene photos on the screen, to get a closer look. "McGoogle, can you find this symbol online?" When Tim didn't respond, Tony glanced over to find him staring at the screen, unmoving. "McGee! You there?"

Tim came out of his trance a moment later.

"What the hell was that about, Probie?"

"I-I'm sorry. I'm not really sure."

Tony put down the clicker and turned his attention to Tim.

"Are you all right, Tim?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Let's just do this, okay? I'll be all right!"

Tony stood there for a second, then turned and picked up the clicker.

"Any luck with the symbols yet, Tim?"

"No. Abby and I have been searching everywhere. There's nothing out there anywhere on these symbols."

"There's got to be _some _kind of occult website you haven't checked. Doesn't Abby know all about this stuff?"

"Not _that _much, Tony."

"Whatever."

Tim got up from his seat.

"I'm going to go down and see if Abby can tell me anything more about these symbols," he took the sketchpad from his desk and went toward the elevator.

The empty elevator was a great reprieve from the overwhelming anxiety he was having over this case. He leaned back against the elevator and opened up the sketchbook to look at the symbols. What was it about these symbols that drew him in?

Suddenly, the elevator lurched to a halt.

"What the—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt the elevator card start dropping toward the bottom of the shaft. The sketchpad went flying out of his hand as he gripped the railing and did the only thing he could think of - he screamed.

**NCISNCISNCIS**

Gibbs and Ducky could hear violent screaming as they stood in Autopsy, talking about the case.

"What on earth is that?" Ducky said aloud.

"It's coming from the hallway," Gibbs said, walking quickly to the door. He heard the elevator ding, and walked toward it. Tim was plastered against the back wall of the elevator, a terrified look on his face. He was screaming as if he were going to die. Gibbs stepped into the elevator with him, while Ducky locked the doors into an open position.

"McGee, it's Gibbs. Can you hear me?"

Tim stood there in shock, as if Gibbs weren't there.

_Or maybe he thinks he's somewhere else…_

"McGee! Talk to me!"

Suddenly, Tim's body went slack, and he sank toward the elevator floor. Gibbs caught him on the way down.

"Ducky! I need your help!"

Ducky appeared at Tim's side.

"What's wrong with him?" Gibbs asked as he lay Tim gently on the floor.

"He's in shock, Jethro. We need to get him to a hospital."

"I'll make the call."

"Bring back a blanket from my office as well," Ducky instructed. He checked Tim's vitals, and found that he was indeed breathing. Gibbs came back moments later.

"Ambulance is on the way." He covered Tim with the blanket. "How in the hell did this happen?" Gibbs asked.

"I wish I knew, Jethro. Everyone is acting strangely today. You, Timothy, Mr. Palmer. It seems to be centering around this strange case you're investigating."

"This is more than a hallucination, Ducky—" Gibbs stopped talking abruptly, and cautiously started looking around the hallway.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure. I feel something here – like a presence. Only it's—"

"What?"

"It's evil."

"Oh, my."

**NCISNCISNCISNCIS**

Tony looked up when he heard the elevator ding, expecting Tim. Instead, Gibbs walked out with a concerned expression on his face.

"What's up, Boss? Where's McGee? He went to Abby's lab over an hour ago."

"McGee is on his way to the hospital."

"Hospital? Is he all right? What happened?"

"I'm not sure. The elevator opened down at Autopsy, and he was holding onto the railing as if—oh my God—"

"What, Boss."

"McGee thought the elevator was going to crash. That's the only explanation for the way he was standing when I found him."

"The elevator was going to _what?_"

"Get rid of all of these symbols," Gibbs suddenly said, thrusting Tim's sketchbook at Tony. I don't want them anywhere near this building. Shred them if you need to. Just get rid of them."

"You don't think a bunch of creepy symbols have been doing all of this, do you?"

"Just do it, DiNozzo!"

"Yes, Boss."

**NCISNCISNCIS**

Gibbs drove to the hospital in record time. A nurse directed him to McGee's room. Tim was still unconscious. He had tubes in his nose, to help him breathe, but other than that, he looked like he was merely sleeping.

"Can I sit with him a while?" he asked the nurse.

"Sure thing, honey. Take all the time you need."

"Thanks."

The nurse left the room. Gibbs made his way across the room, and pulled up a chair next to Tim's bed.

"Whatever this is, I'm going to stop it. I promise."

Gibbs started to feel as if the room were getting colder. He zipped up his jacket and sat back in the chair. He wanted to close his eyes, but he was terrified of what he might see. He started to shiver.

_Is the heat on in here?_

Gibbs got up to check the thermostat. It was set at 63. As he reached to reset it, he saw it drop – about ten degrees.

"What the hell?"

There was a commotion behind him. He turned quickly, thinking Tim had fallen out of bed. What he saw instead made him think he had to be dreaming – at least he _hoped _it was all a bad dream, and he'd wake up on his couch.

Every cupboard along the wall was hanging open, and all of the medical supplies were on the floor. He looked up in time to see what looked like a dark mass, hovering over Tim as he slept.

"Leave him alone!" Gibbs yelled. "Get away from him!" He ran toward the bed, waving his arms around frantically. The mass did not move. There was only one other thing he could think of. Maybe he'd been watching too much _Ghost Hunters _before he went to sleep. He just hoped it worked. He rushed for the light switch, and flipped on every light in the room. The black mass shrunk away, into the floor, and was gone.

Gibbs looked over at Tim. He'd grown paler before, and his monitor was reading a lower heart rate. Whatever that thing was, it was sucking the life out of Tim. Just then, the heart monitor started beeping out of control.

"Tim!"

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: The story is going to get a lot scarier from here... reader discretion is advised._

Gibbs ran for the emergency button next to Tim's bed and jammed his finger into it as hard as he could. Within seconds there were medical staff surrounding the young agent's hospital bed. Gibbs stood back by the door, watching. It took a bit of time, but the doctor finally got Tim's vitals back to a somewhat normal level. Gibbs let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, as the doctor turned to him.

"Agent Gibbs, what happened in here?" the doctor demanded, motioning to both Tim's monitor and the mess on the floor.

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself. I'll make sure this gets cleaned up."

"And Agent McGee?"

"I have no idea, honestly. He was fine one minute, and the next…"

"Okay, we'll continue to monitor him. The second anything else happens, let someone know immediately, okay?"

"I will."

The doctor left the room. The nurse fiddled with Tim's IV and left shortly after the doctor.

Gibbs started to clean up the mess that the entity left behind. As he picked up the medical supplies, his cell phone rang in his pocket. He dropped everything on the counter and took out his phone.

"Gibbs."

"_Boss, we have a problem." _

"What's the matter, DiNozzo?"

"_It's Ziva. She went berserk. She was hallucinating. She thinks she's still in Mossad. It took me, Balboa and McAvoy to restrain her."_

"Where is she now?"

"_Ducky has her down in autopsy. We uh, handcuffed her to a table. Boss, she thinks we are the enemy. She nearly stabbed me to death." _

Gibbs scrubbed a hand over his face. What in the hell was happening to his team?

"Did you get rid of those symbols, DiNozzo?"

"_I shredded all of the pictures, and Abby deleted all of the images from her computer, except for what she saved on a flash drive for evidence."_

"Get rid of the flash drive, DiNozzo. I want those symbols gone!"

"_I'll have Abby destroy it."_

"Do it fast."

Gibbs hung up and continued to clean up the mess. Tim's monitors beeped faithfully. As he worked, he said a silent prayer for Tim. He wasn't allowed to die. He would wake up.

**NCISNCISNCIS**

Tony hung up his desk phone and looked around the bullpen. He was the only one of the MCRT left. A chill ran up Tony's spine as he recalled the incident with Ziva. She had a look in her eyes that he'd never seen before, and hoped to never see again. It made him wonder exactly what she did with Mossad.

His phone brought him back from his musings, and he shakily answered it.

"DiNozzo."

"_Tony! I need your help! Hurry!" _

"What's the matter, Abs?" Tony said quickly, jumping out of his chair.

"_I'm not sure! Hurry! I'm scared!" _

"I'm coming, Abby! Go into your office and lock the door until I get there."

"_But that's where the demon is!"_

"Where the _what_ is?"

"_Just get your ass down here!"_

"OK I'm coming. Hang tight."

Tony hung up and grabbed his gun from his drawer – he wasn't sure what for – and rushed to the stairwell. He didn't have time to wait for the elevator. He bolted down the stairs and rammed through the door at the Lab level. He ran as fast as he could to the lab. The doors seemed to be locked. He saw Abby cowering in the corner. He pounded on the glass for Abby to let him in. She ran over to her console and pressed the button. Nothing happened.

"Abby! Open the door!" He shouted, pounding his fists on the glass with all of his strength.

"It won't open!" she shouted back. Her eyes moved toward her office, and Tony saw them suddenly go wide. He turned as her office door slid open, and he saw it. There was a black mass, attempting to take a human shape as it came closer to Abby. Terrified, Tony pounded on the door.

"Abby!"

"It's coming! Tony, help! It's coming for me!"

Tony took a couple of steps back and tried to fire at the glass. The bullets had no effect.

"God damn! Bulletproof!"

He saw the black mass getting closer and closer to Abby, who was still backing away from it. She suddenly ran out of room, and was pinned against Major Mass Spec. The black mass approached her slowly.

"Abby! No!" Tony pounded furiously on the door as he watched the black mass surround Abby, until he could no longer see her. He could hear her piercing screams over the heavy metal music blasting in the lab.

"Abby!" he screamed, futilely pounding his fists on the glass. He watched as the mass started to dissipate. At first, he thought the mass was just going away on its own. After a moment, Abby's body came into view. She was lying on the floor, unconscious. He watched in horror as the black mass entered Abby's body.

"No! Get away from her!" Tony yelled from the other side of the glass. The mass ignored Tony, and second later, it had fully immersed itself in Abby's body. At that moment, the door slid open. Tony ran in. Abby was sitting up, looking at him. She blinked a few times, as if adjusting to the light. Tony froze in his tracks when he saw her eyes.

Abby's eyes were solid black.

"Get out of her," Tony said angrily.

"I like this body," the demon replied in a deep, menacing voice. "I will stay for a while." The demon got to its feet and started moving toward Tony, who started to back away.

"What the hell do you want?" Tony asked, terrified.

"You have given us what we want," the demon replied. "We are free, and we are hungry."

"Stay the hell away from me!" Tony yelled as he stumbled backward toward the door. The demon was moving toward him faster. He was almost to the door, when the demon jumped up, sailed five feet forward toward him, and latched onto his throat. Tony didn't want to hurt Abby, but he couldn't allow the demon to feed on him. He shoved the demon backward, and it stumbled and fell, still not accustomed to its human form. Tony stepped out of the lab, and the doors closed. He fished into his suit pocket and brought out his mother's crucifix. He wasn't sure why he'd chosen to carry it with him that day, but he was glad he did. He held it up against the glass, and the demon stopped.  
The crucifix was keeping the demon from exiting the lab.

Tony rolled up his sleeve and tore off a piece of the medical tape from the wound inflicted by Ziva, and stuck the crucifix to the glass. With that, he pressed the radiation alarm, sealing off the lab and preventing the door from accidentally sliding open. The alarm brought Balboa, who was just getting off the elevator.

"What the hell happened?" Balboa shouted.

"Remember what happened to Ziva?"

Balboa nodded.

"It happened to Abby. I need you to stay here and watch her. Do not open that door for any reason until I get back."

"All right, DiNozzo. I'll play along."

"It's not a game, Balboa!"

"All right! Go! But get your ass back here quickly!"

"Thanks, I owe you one."

"Noted. Go!"

Tony took off toward the stairs. He had to get to autopsy. If there were multiple demons, he had to get to Ducky and Jimmy first.

**TBC… **


End file.
